There’s little or no to differentiate the perfect telephones in 2026. Past their particular person software program quirks and marginally completely different approaches to AI, at this time’s flagships are equally highly effective, equally long-lasting, and clad in a similar-looking polished metallic of the kind most popular by Phineas T. Ratchet in Robots.
This equilibrium proves simply how far smartphones have come for the reason that days of lofty antennas and bodily keypads, but it surely’s additionally put the trade in an exceptionally boring place (you’ll keep in mind that Ratchet is the unhealthy man in Robots — his catchphrase, “Why be you, once you could be new?”, is supposed to echo the unoriginality in his polish. Okay, sufficient about Robots…).
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Let’s begin with the nice. The USP of the iPhone Air — amongst different iPhones a minimum of — is its improbably skinny dimension. Measuring 5.64mm at its thinnest level, the iPhone Air is 31% smaller than the iPhone 17 Professional and a few 41g lighter, regardless of boasting a bigger 6.5-inch show. All of its core parts are housed within the fantastically crafted ‘Digicam Plateau’ on its rear panel, and Apple by some means makes room for the Motion button, Digicam Management, and its flawless Face ID system elsewhere, too.
Me, clearly having fun with the iPhone Air’s design (Picture credit score: Future)
Design-wise, the iPhone Air is a marvel, and I’ve by no means had so many individuals praise and question my cellphone as I’ve in latest months (apparently, on two separate events, individuals have mistaken my white iPhone Air for a Google Pixel). I’m fortunate sufficient to check new telephones all 12 months spherical, however from the second I unboxed the Air, it gave me that pang of pleasure that after got here with any Apple product buy, and I’ve continued to expertise real moments of pleasure simply by holding this wafer-thin block of titanium and glass.
It feels foolish to jot down a few cellphone in such hyperbolic phrases, however the Air jogged my memory that there can nonetheless be worth in stunning, boundary-pushing design. We acquired a number of flak for awarding the iPhone Air our Telephone of the Yr award in 2025, however that title felt apt when Apple’s newest creation ignited a lot debate amongst customers and journalists alike (the massive query: is sweet design sufficient to warrant a excessive price ticket?).
The cellphone’s A19 Professional chipset, too, is lots highly effective, and nearly as good as something you’ll discover in different iPhones or Android telephones, whereas its single 48MP Fusion digicam is a succesful shooter, providing spectacular dynamic vary and glorious low-light efficiency.
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A photograph taken on the iPhone Air at 1x(Picture credit score: Future)A photograph taken on the iPhone Air at 2x(Picture credit score: Future)A photograph taken on the iPhone Air at 1x(Picture credit score: Future)A photograph taken on the iPhone Air at 2x(Picture credit score: Future)A photograph taken on the iPhone Air at 1x(Picture credit score: Future)A photograph taken on the iPhone Air at 1x(Picture credit score: Future)
However therein lies the primary thorn within the iPhone Air’s aspect. It prices $999 / £999 / AU$1,799, but it surely’s saddled with the identical rear digicam {hardware} because the iPhone 17e, which prices $599 / £599 / AU$999 — virtually half the value. Admittedly, I do suppose the iPhone Air is twice the cellphone — you get a bigger, 120Hz show, a extra highly effective chipset, further buttons, the Dynamic Island, and, most significantly, that svelte design. However having to accept an entry-level digicam system is a troublesome tablet to swallow when you’re used to proudly owning an ultra-wide lens (as you do get on the cheaper base iPhone), and additional powerful when you’re used to the Professional’s ultra-wide and telephoto combo.
Nonetheless, for me, the weightlessness of the iPhone Air is well worth the digicam trade-off. I’ve discovered Apple’s 48MP Fusion digicam to be a suitable choice in 80% of conditions, and whereas I might love a devoted telephoto lens, it’s not a deal breaker in my private use case.
The extra urgent concern is battery life. Apple claims you’ll get “all-day” endurance from the iPhone Air, and I’ve discovered that to be true… a number of the time. As our in-depth testing confirmed, Apple’s tremendous slim cellphone can certainly run for round 24 hours when you’re solely streaming video, however internet looking over 5G knocks that determine down considerably.
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I completely must put my iPhone Air on cost earlier than I am going to mattress each night. Now, admittedly, I might often do this with every other cellphone as a matter of routine, however virtually all telephones that price upwards of $999 / £999 / AU$1,799 would final you properly into the subsequent day when you forgot to cost them in a single day. And that’s simply not true of the iPhone Air.
The iPhone Air’s rear panel and ‘Digicam Plateau’ (Picture credit score: Future)
To be clear: the iPhone Air’s battery life isn’t outright horrible. However it’s worse than the iPhone 17 Professional’s, iPhone 17’s, and even the iPhone 17e’s, and it turns into an issue if you end up having fun with/enduring a very scroll-heavy day on social media.
I got here to the iPhone Air from an iPhone 17 Professional (and the iPhone 16 Professional earlier than that), and battery life is the only greatest distinction between these two kinds of iPhone. I can reside with out the Professional’s telephoto lens, however the occasional bouts of battery anxiousness attributable to the iPhone Air are tougher for me to abdomen.
And but, the iPhone Air makes me really feel… one thing. It appears and feels attractive — and, crucially, it appears and feels new. Each cellphone reviewer has the phrase “type over substance” of their again pocket, however I’m reluctant to use it to Apple’s newest design enterprise. There may be substance in its type.
My colleague, Phil, echoed this sentiment in a separate piece final 12 months: “Does wanting the iPhone Air appear shameful? After years of complaining in regards to the shortcomings of smartphones, Apple’s new iPhone takes all of these complaints and throws them proper again in my face. It dares me to need its svelte kind.
“The iPhone Air lacks all the things that I’d let you know I need in a brand new cellphone,” he continued, “aside from the one factor I need most of all. I desire a new cellphone to really feel new. I need a completely new expertise, not only a step up from final 12 months’s mannequin.”
That’s precisely how I really feel in regards to the iPhone Air. It’s objectively worse than the iPhone 17 Professional and possibly even the bottom iPhone 17, however I simply can’t appear to tear myself away from it. That is probably the most conflicted I’ve ever been a few cellphone, and I’m grateful that an Apple product has made me really feel once more.
In the present day’s greatest iPhone Air offers
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